So im looking for peoples thoughts on the difference and better suited models for OZ conditions.

Quad...??

or

Thruster...???

both have been around before and obviously both work but wat do people think??

cheers

Living around adelaide - a large flattish single freewave for <20knts or flat water (summer) blasting and a medium twinnie thruster or quad for >20 knts and decent waves - seems to work ok. Love the 92 twinser - just need to be well powered - and its still fun in solid B&J conditions and great for backhand waves - sure a quad or thruster would be similar but haven't had the pleasure as yet

If your wave sailing the multi fin will feel good - you just gotta see if you can demo each - its a hard call. Good luck in your quest

thanks russh.

im getting a JP polakow quad.

just wodnering if anyone has a opinion on how the thruster and quad ride. wats the diference

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JOYRIDER said...

thanks russh.

im getting a JP polakow quad.

just wodnering if anyone has a opinion on how the thruster and quad ride. wats the diference

the way I understand the theory behind thursters vs quads goes something like this:

Thruster: Really a single fin board with focus on early planing and good speed. But by using the two thruster fins you can use a smaller main fin thus giving you more manoeuvrability while keeping the early planing/ speed advantages. To some extend the thrusters give you drive and grip while doing a bottom turn.

Quad: the use of multiple small fins give you very loose turning on a wave, the additional forward fins give you drive and grip when you doing very tight bottom turns.

In the case of the JP range I believe the Thursters are really they new Allround wave boards... the Quads are their dedicated side/ cross off wave boards. I guess we will know more about what their exact thinking is once they actually launch their new site.

Bacon and Eggs.
Ferrari and Landcruiser.
Black and White.
Thruster and Quad.

Very different boards with different feels and their own positive and negative aspects.

Quads:
- Fast. They've got no drag fins (thruster centre fin).
- Usually wider tails - easier to plane.
- Really grippy, 4 fins aren't going to break traction easily.
- More stable through chop. For those windy cross off days.
- Direct.

Thrusters:
- Less fins. More of a loose feel. You want a bit of slip when hitting the lip.
- Probably just as stable through chop.
- Usually based on a single fin design, more smooth arcs, powerful, old school sailing.

Its easy to speculate on these topics. How to stop speculation? First hand experience. Cut through the bull**** and take out the best bits of the marketing slag. ie Quads = More fins = More grip. Thrust = Singlefin feel = Less grip. You choose one which might suit you and test it :) Success!

Its easy to buy into the hype, OMG Kaulis on quads fk yeah I'll get one! ... until you watch Angulo absolutely shred, with classic style on a single. What board is better again?

There is no best board.
There is black and there is white.
There is sky and there is land.
There is thruster and there is quad, and singles, and twins, and ALOT of different types of each.

haha any my points are in direct contrast with stehsegler's!

JOYRIDER windsurf magazine did a comparison between quads and thrusters a while ago. I'll try find and scan my copy of the mag. In the mean time, test both if you can, and if you can't read up on it. Even surfboard articles give a bit of a comparison.

Atleast if you find your purchase isn't what you wanted you can change the fins around a fair bit on both (if they have the right boxes) and play around with singles and twins, or quads and twins for thrusters and quad fin boards respectively.

www.windsurfingmag.com

best board to get is a custom designed for the conditions you most surf in, that way you'll be happy regardless if its a single, twin, tri fin, single w/ thrusters or twin w/ thrusters...

BTW I got myself a quatro custom quad set up for NSW onshore waves and cost $~$200-300 more than a JP quad at the time, and very happy with result.... but nude boards over in wa or even oes in SA maybe better priced than a US custom board at the moment IMO...

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KMAN5000 said...

best board to get is a custom designed for the conditions you most surf in, that way you'll be happy regardless if its a single, twin, tri fin, single w/ thrusters or twin w/ thrusters...

Beg to differ on that one... most custom boards are essentially a specific "stock" shape that gets customised to your requirements... ie I need more speed, I need more rocker, etc.

While this probably works well for pro sailors I believe the majority of windsurfers out there would be better off buying a production board. I have had a conversions with a couple of Maui based companies re custom boards. After a bit of back and forth they essentially told me that for heavier sailors they recommend to get a production board rather than a custom. The main reasoning was that they couldn't guarantee durability without scarifying performance.

So while in some cases a custom could an option I would think very long and hard about. I actually found that riding other peoples boards when you get a chance and giving demo boards a go can really give a good idea what your like / don't like.

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ozpricey said...
- Fast. They've got no drag fins (thruster centre fin).

I think that is very objective. I know a few people who swear their quads are the fastest boards they have ever had... yet, when you are on the water I easily get higher speed out of my boards. Perhaps the perception of speed something to do with the feel of the board rather then actual speed.

RE using a single fin board vs a twin/ quad... one thing no one has mentioned yet is that you can sail the twin/ quad boards on those super low tide days in Gnaraloo when it's long game over for a single fin board...

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stehsegler said...

ozpricey said...
- Fast. They've got no drag fins (thruster centre fin).

I think that is very objective. I know a few people who swear their quads are the fastest boards they have ever had... yet, when you are on the water I easily get higher speed out of my boards. Perhaps the perception of speed something to do with the feel of the board rather then actual speed.

RE using a single fin board vs a twin/ quad... one thing no one has mentioned yet is that you can sail the twin/ quad boards on those super low tide days in Gnaraloo when it's long game over for a single fin board...

for most of us who live a few thousand miles away I don't think that would be a big selling point.

just don't blow it - I have bounced of NW WA reef quite a few times in my younger days and have the urchin holes and oyster bed scars to prove it - ouch!!!

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russh said...
for most of us who live a few thousand miles away I don't think that would be a big selling point.

you are probably right in regards to the location... although I find similar theory works for shallow sandbars usually found around NSW beach breaks.

Quad it is.

cheers lads